A checklist of Nigerian ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): a review, new records and exotic species

Abstract

Ants are one of the most ubiquitous, widespread and abundant groups of animals on Earth. They are eusocial and are well noted for their important ecosystem services such as nutrient recycling, seed dispersal, engaging in mutualistic associations with other organisms, as well as serving as predators and scavengers. Although Africa has been recognised as a global hotspot for ant diversity, African ant genera are not as well-known when compared with other regions. The last checklist of Nigerian ants was compiled and published in the 1970s. To contribute to new knowledge on West African ant genera and Nigeria in particular, we conducted a review of the ant species of Nigeria using 132 scientific publications mostly compiled in the database www.antmaps.org, along with a survey of ant species of Lagos and Oyo States in Nigeria which was conducted between 2018 and 2020. The study aimed to ascertain the diversity of Nigerian ant genera, as well as to confirm the presence of previously recorded species and add new species to the current checklist of Nigerian ants, based on the 1970 survey. As many as 106 species were recorded from the survey in the current study, of which 28 are new to Nigeria and additional 28 are identified to the morphospecies level. In total, 317 species from 10 subfamilies and 64 genera are now recorded from Nigeria, including 11 invasive ants, of which six are new to Nigeria. The following eleven species that were included in the 1970 checklist were excluded from the current list, mostly due to previous misidentifications: Aenictus rotundatus Mayr, 1901; Anochetus jonesi Arnold, 1926; Camponotus barbarossa micipsa Wheeler, 1992; Camponotus foraminosus dorsalis Santschi, 1926; Camponotus rufoglaucus (Jerdon, 1851); Cardiocondyla zoserka Bolton, 1982; Messor barbarus (Linnaeus, 1767); Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1758); Technomyrmex albipes (Smith, 1861); Tetramorium decem Forel, 1913 and Tetraponera penzigi (Mayr, 1907).